IDEA 2004 mandates that local school districts provide accessible instructional materials to eligible print-disabled students in a timely manner. Jim and Mark work for Intermediate School Districts in Michigan, and as 'authorized entities' under the Chafee Amendment, have been creating and distributing accessible materials for eligible students in our local schools. Jim will demonstrate how pdf format books can be easily created, and how comprehension supports can be embedded right into those documents. Mark will demonstrate how MP3 audio files can be created, and how audio CDs or cassette tapes can be converted to MP3. Methods of distributing accessible materials will be discussed, and a set of "draft" policies on the use of accessible materials for local districts and authorized entities will be shared. We will show how much can be accomplished when a group of 'authorized entities' collaborate to create a large archive of materials. Eventually, a system of distributing and using NIMAC files will be implemented in Michigan, and the "market model" will result in publishers offering more and more materials in accessible formats for purchase by schools. In the meantime, school-based authorized entities must take a primary role in creating accessible materials if all students who need those materials are to get them.
Mark Dennis, Consultant for Assistive Technology, Eaton Intermediate School District, Charlotte, MI .
Jim Kauppila, Teacher Consultant, Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, Muskegon, MI .
The following is a copy of the 1996 Chafee Amendment to the Copyright Law.
H.R.3754 One Hundred Fourth Congress of the United States of America AT THE SECOND SESSION AN ACT
Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes, namely:
SEC. 316. Limitation on Exclusive Copyrights for Literary Works in Specialized Format for the Blind and Disabled.--
(a) IN GENERAL--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 120 the following new section:
"SEC.121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other people with disabilities "(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 710, it is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies or phonorecords are reproduced or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities. "(b)(1) Copies or phonorecords to which this section applies shall-- "(A) not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a specialized format exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities; "(B) bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format other than a specialized format is an infringement; and "(C) include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the date of the original publication. "(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to standardized, secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing material, or to computer programs, except the
portions thereof that are in conventional human language (including descriptions of pictorial works) and displayed to users in the ordinary course of using the computer programs. " (c) For purposes of this section, the term-- "(1) 'authorized entity' means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities; "(2) 'blind or other persons with disabilities' means individuals who are eligible or who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled 'An Act to provide books for the adult blind', approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 35a; 46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats; and "(3) 'specialized formats' means braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.".
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT--The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to section 120 the following:
"121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other people with disabilities.".
Jim Kauppila, Teacher Consultant, Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, Muskegon, MI .
The Chafee Amendment
The following is a copy of the 1996 Chafee Amendment to the Copyright Law.
H.R.3754 One Hundred Fourth Congress of the United States of America AT THE SECOND SESSION AN ACT
Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes, namely:
SEC. 316. Limitation on Exclusive Copyrights for Literary Works in Specialized Format for the Blind and Disabled.--
(a) IN GENERAL--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 120 the following new section:
"SEC.121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other people with disabilities "(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 710, it is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies or phonorecords are reproduced or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities. "(b)(1) Copies or phonorecords to which this section applies shall-- "(A) not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a specialized format exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities; "(B) bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format other than a specialized format is an infringement; and "(C) include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the date of the original publication. "(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to standardized, secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing material, or to computer programs, except the
portions thereof that are in conventional human language (including descriptions of pictorial works) and displayed to users in the ordinary course of using the computer programs. " (c) For purposes of this section, the term-- "(1) 'authorized entity' means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities; "(2) 'blind or other persons with disabilities' means individuals who are eligible or who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled 'An Act to provide books for the adult blind', approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 35a; 46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats; and "(3) 'specialized formats' means braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.".
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT--The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to section 120 the following:
"121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other people with disabilities.".